Official Launch of the Human Rights Intervention

The Official Launch of the Human Rights Intervention was held on Thursday, the 28th of March, 2019, at the Coconut Grove Regency Hotel located at Ridge in Accra. The event was designed to shed light on the Human Rights issues confronting persons living with HIV/AIDS [PLHIV], Tuberculosis [TB] clients, and KPs as well as to present to key stakeholders and the general public, the HR intervention being directly executed by WAPCAS, in collaboration with a number of Government Ministries, Departments/Agencies, Key Actors and other collaborators drawn from the private sector and international development agencies.
The Launch Event started at 10:14 am and the dignitaries in attendance were:
• Mr. Joseph Akanjolenur Whittal, Commissioner of CHRAJ – Special Guest of Honour
• Mr. Cosmos Ohene Agyei representing the Acting Director-General of the GAC - Chairman for the Launch
• Ms. Angela Trenton-Mbonde – Country Director, UNAIDS, Ghana
• Mr. Collins Agyarko Nti – Chairman of the Country Coordinating Mechanism [CCM] of the Global Fund
• Commissioner of Police [COP] Dr. George Ofosu Dampare – Ghana Police Service [representing the Inspector-General of Police]
• Mrs. Comfort Asamoah – Adu – Executive Director, WAPCAS

Three persons drawn from Key Populations shared their experiences with the gathering. These were:
Jerry - A tuberculosis survivor
Musa - A tuberculosis survivor
Ernestina - A PLHIV

Their testimonies were moving and went a long way to driving home the point that stigmatization and discrimination are rife in our communities and need to be seriously addressed. The entire atmosphere was charged with empathy for PLHIV and TB patients. The testimonies were followed by Solidarity messages from the following:
• Ms. Angela Trenton-Mbonde, Country Director of UNAIDS
• A Representative from the USAID
• Mr. Collins Agyarko Nti – Chairman of the Country Coordinating Mechanism [CCM] of the Global Fund
• Ghana Health Service – Dr. Badu

A dramatized presentation on Stigmatization and Discrimination was made by PLAY.COM aptly capturing the manner in which our key populations are discriminated against, setting the tone for the climax of the Launch.
The keynote address was delivered by Mr. Joseph Akanjolenur Whittal, Commissioner of CHRAJ, Special Guest of Honour. With pomp and pageantry, the Human Rights Intervention was launched by our Special Guest of Honour, assisted by the Chairman for the event, Executive Director- WAPCAS, and other dignitaries.
In his closing remarks, the Chairman for the Launch, Mr. Cosmos Ohene Agyei representing the [Acting Director-General of the Ghana AIDS Commission] indicated that he would take up the challenge thrown by Mr. Nti and explore ways in which the Ghana AIDS Commission could leverage on its mandate to get some “counterpart funding” from the Government.
The Vote of Thanks was rendered by Ms. Trudi Nunoo with the Launch Event ending at 1:17 pm.